Can You Sue After an Amusement Park Injury?
Amusement parks are places where folks go a couple times of year to enjoy pumping up their adrenaline on death-defying rides. However, in cases where injuries occur, the amusement park can be held strictly liable.
One recent case was filed against Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. The plaintiff alleged that she sustained a brain injury after riding one of their roller coasters. In this case, Six Flags Magic Mountain was able to defeat the claim. A jury returned a 10-2 verdict in favor of the defendant.
The plaintiff was unable to establish that the ride led to permanent brain damage. She was seeking more than $37 million in her lawsuit against Magic Mountain.
Can roller coasters cause brain injury?
One of the most dangerous sports you can involve yourself with is luge. Lugers are prone to suffering chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE from micro concussions they suffer due to rapid change of directions. The micro-concussions add up over time and result in CTE and brain injury. Roller coasters are similar insofar as you can be jerked around while riding. Rapid changes of direction cause your brain to jostle within your skull and strike the skull wall. This can result in a concussion injury or a micro-concussion.
Unlike lugers, however, those riding roller coasters don’t sustain repeated micro-concussions over a protracted period of time. Instead, they ride the coasters for a day and then go about their other business. It would be difficult to establish that CTE resulted from a single day’s worth of riding roller coasters. It appears that this plaintiff believed that her injuries were more severe than they actually were.
A LA County jury found that her injuries were not as severe as she had claimed. While she may have sustained a micro-concussion from the ride, she was not able to establish that permanent damage resulted from her roller coaster experience.
Suing amusement parks
If someone is seriously injured in an amusement park, they can file a lawsuit against the amusement park to recover damages related to their injuries. However, they must be able to establish that they were riding the ride as intended. In these cases, a plaintiff who was fooling around on the ride may not be able to recover damages. Otherwise, the amusement park is strictly liable for injuries caused to park-goers.
Strict liability means that the plaintiff does not need to establish negligence to file their claim. They need only prove that they were injured while attempting to enjoy the ride. Lawsuits can be filed against the amusement park and the company that produced or manufactured the ride. Usually, both are named when someone is injured.
Contact a Tampa, FL Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you have been injured at an amusement park, the Tampa personal injury attorneys at The Matassini Law Firm can help you recover damages related to your injuries. Call our office today to schedule a free consultation and we can talk more about how you can recover damages related to your medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced quality of life.
Source:
blog.cvn.com/los-angeles-jury-rejects-34.7m-roller-coaster-brain-injury-lawsuit
